RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned’

Blue Lights Out: 10 Closed & Abandoned Kmart Stores

29 Nov

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned-kmart-0
Attention Kmart shoppers… would the last one out the door please turn off the blue lights? These 10 abandoned Kmart stores have rung up their last receipt.

abandoned-kmart-1d

abandoned-kmart-1b

The first Kmart opened on March 1st, 1962, in Garden City, Michigan – one of 18 Kmart stores to open that year. It wasn’t long before “Attention Kmart shoppers!” and the Blue Light Special entered the realm of pop culture. All good things must come to an end, however, though the end for Kmart has been especially long and messy.

abandoned-kmart-1a

abandoned-kmart-1c

Down to 979 stores (as of January 2015) in 49 states and territories, Kmart’s decline has left hundreds of abandoned buildings in its wake including the one above, abandoned since 2008 in Defiance, Ohio. Kudos to Flickr user Nicholas Eckhart for snapping and posting the images above.

Z-Mart

abandoned-kmart-2

Sign of the End Times? The Walking Dead of retail? This disturbing “Kmart from Hell” sign stands (as of January 31st, 2013) in front of the abandoned former Kmart Super Center at Winchester and Riverdale in Memphis, TN. Built in 1995, the store only lasted ten years before management threw in the towel. Flickr user l_dawg2000‘s photo highlights “some sort of lo-jac device (bottom left on the sign) to discourage stealing it!”

Close the Palm Bay Doors

abandoned-kmart-3a

abandoned-kmart-3c

abandoned-kmart-3b

abandoned-kmart-3e

abandoned-kmart-3d

Call it a combo of dedication and obsession: Flickr user Albertsons Florida Blog photo-documented the decline and fall of Kmart #3710 in Palm Bay, Florida (opened 1979), in 217 photos (and two videos) dating from January 28th of 2014 through September 9th, 2015.

Because of Winn-Dixie?

abandoned-kmart-4b

abandoned-kmart-4a

Too big to fail? Nope! Flickr user Ryan (RetailByRyan95) brings us this abandoned Big Kmart (complete with enticing K Cafe) department store at 5432 Glenside Drive in Richmond, VA. The store opened as a regular Kmart in 1977; in 1998 it expanded into the space formerly occupied by a neighboring Winn-Dixie supermarket that had closed the previous year.

abandoned-kmart-4c

Black signs don’t matter. Newly incarnated as a “Big Kmart”, the store soldiered on until August 2012 when the doors slammed shut for the final time and the sign was blacked out.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Blue Lights Out 10 Closed Abandoned Kmart Stores

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Blue Lights Out: 10 Closed & Abandoned Kmart Stores

Posted in Creativity

 

Floating Forest: Trees Rise From Corpse of Abandoned Ship

29 Oct

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

floating forest 6

Rusted and half-sunken yet still somehow afloat on the waters of Sydney’s Homebush Bay, the remains of a century-old ship have become fertile ground for a thriving forest. Located on the south bank of the Parramatta River on the inner west side of the city, the bay was a hub for industrial activity in the mid-20th century and became a dumping ground for unwanted materials of all kinds, from busted ships to toxic waste.

 

floating forest 7

floating forest 4

The bay was ultimately rehabilitated, but many of the ships remain, lurking among a tangle of mangrove trees. Among them is the SS Ayrfield, which the mangroves clearly found quite hospitable, transforming it into a sort of artificial floating island. In its former life, the Ayrfield was used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific during World War II before operating as a collier. It was sent to Homebush for disposal in 1972 after sixty years of service.

floating forest 1

floating forest 2

floating forest 3

floating forest 5

Awash in brilliant hues of red and orange, the hull of the 1,140-ton SS Ayrfield pokes up from the surface of the water, the Sydney skyline looming in the distance. Other ghostly ships in the bay include the steam tugboat SS Heroic and the steel boom defense vessel HMAS Karangi, which helped defend Darwin Harbour from Japanese attack in 1942.

Photos: Jason Baker, gerryligon, rodney campbell / Flickr Creative Commons

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Floating Forest: Trees Rise From Corpse of Abandoned Ship

Posted in Creativity

 

Ruins to Art: Timber Addition Transforms Abandoned Building

27 Oct

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

sculptural wooden bar 1

An abandoned traditional building on the coast of Madalena, Portugal has come back to life with a sculptural wooden extension that emerges from the back like a living organism. Cella Bar by FCC Arquitectura and Paulo Lobo leaves the original structure intact, merging the vernacular architecture with a wholly modern aesthetic in pale curving timber.

sculptural wooden bar 2

sculptural wooden bar 3

sculptural wooden bar 8

sculptural wooden bar 9

Missing elements of the abandoned building, like the doors and windows, were restored to make it look just as it did when it was first built, minus the charming weathering on the stones. The interiors were transformed to suit the building’s new purpose as a restaurant, the wooden floors flowing out the rear doors, onto the original terrace and continuing onto the roof of the addition.

ruins

sculptural wooden bar 4

sculptural wooden bar 5

sculptural wooden bar 7

“The new extension is a contemporary creation, exposed to a completely different language,” say the architects. “It is an organic, dynamic construction that contrasts with the orthogonal, classic language of the building where it is embedded. The design is defined by great plasticity, both in terms of forms and materials, and is markedly inspired by the natural environment around the site. Several features of that environment are present in the architecture of the building, including the outline of the island, rocks, whales and wine casks. The new volume acts like a giant sculpture, tailored for its location.”

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Ruins to Art: Timber Addition Transforms Abandoned Building

Posted in Creativity

 

Baker’s Doesn’t: 13 Sweet Abandoned Donut Shops

26 Oct

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned-mister-donut-mug-centralia
Sorry Homer (and countless men in blue), these closed and abandoned donut shops have served their last sprinkled, frosted and/or creme-filled delicacy. DOH!

abandoned-dunkin-donuts-shop-2

An abandoned donut shop in Crown Heights? That ain’t kosher… and maybe that was the problem. Flickr user Anthony Fine (pop archaeologist) snapped the sad state of this boarded-up former Dunkin Donuts store on May 19th, 2014. At least a tree grows in Brooklyn; donut shops, not so much.

Panned Out

abandoned-donut-shop-peter-pan-1a

abandoned-donut-shop-peter-pan-1c

abandoned-donut-shop-peter-pan-1b

How good was the food at Peter Pan Donuts & Restaurant? Since the owners put “Donuts” before “Restaurant” on their sign, you can probably draw your own conclusions. We’re sure Spinal Tap felt the same way after getting second-billing to a Puppet Show. Nice sign, though. Flickr users Randy Fox (congoeels) and Scott (scottamus) captured the abandoned and deteriorating Cleveland, Ohio “landmark” on various occasions between 2009 and 2013.

The King Is Dead

abandoned-donut-king-4

Winchell’s Donuts couldn’t make a go of it at this Norwalk, CA location so “Donut King Croissant – Muffin” took a stab at it… and saw history repeat. Don’t people learn from the mistakes of others? Mind you, offering the “wholesale” option was a stroke of genius. Mmmm, wholesale donuts. Flickr user ozfan22 snapped the deposed Donut King on March 29th of 2009.

Unhappy

abandoned-happy-donuts-11

Flickr user Lindsay Blair Brown Instagram captured Happy Donuts in all its abandoned glory on May 6th, 2012. She didn’t say where the colorful shop was but maybe sharp-eyed readers can make an educated guess based on its offerings: kolaches, croissants, biscuits, and breakfast tacos. Serving up these delicacies 7 days a week, how could this place ever close?

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Bakers Doesnt 13 Sweet Abandoned Donut Shops

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Baker’s Doesn’t: 13 Sweet Abandoned Donut Shops

Posted in Creativity

 

Light House: Translucent Dwellings in an Abandoned Parking Garage

24 Oct

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

light house 1

With their cavernous abandoned spaces, the hundreds of stalled skyscraper projects throughout tropical Asia could serve a purpose by hosting low-budget micro-dwellings aimed at ‘urban nomads.’ Economic conditions put many high-rise building projects on hold, while the global housing crisis is making it difficult to impossible for young people, the middle class and the urban poor to find affordable accommodations in desirable cities. A project called ‘Light House’ offers a temporary solution.

light house 5

light house 4

Designed especially for mild climates, these prototype housing units consist of perforated metal grid frames, plastic-laminated plywood floors and walls made of layered textiles. “The different degrees of perforation of the walls give variation to the space within by selective filtering of external elements,” say the creators, Bangkok design firm All(zone). There are shelves for personal items, a changing room with a closet, and a bed surrounded by mosquito net.

light house 2

light house 3

light house 10

Each one costs $ 1,200 to make and can be quickly assembled and disassembled, taken to a new location when the current ‘host’ is no longer available. The designers themselves lived in the prototype units to test them out. But would the average young city resident really want to live in a space like this?

light house 6

light house 7

The need for affordable housing, adaptability and reclaiming vacant urban spaces is undeniable, but flimsy structures like these seem like just one shaky step above homelessness, and might be better suited to serving that population instead. The transparency of the walls could be seen as a statement on what it’s like to live in the streets, perhaps making an even more profound statement on the housing crisis than the creators intended.

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Light House: Translucent Dwellings in an Abandoned Parking Garage

Posted in Creativity

 

Taped Shut: 15 More Closed & Abandoned Video Stores

18 Oct

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

video-store-tape-headz-1a
Since you can’t rewind time, these 15 abandoned video stores sit paused in retail limbo waiting for hipsters to spark an unlikely VHS cassette revival.

video-store-tape-headz-1b

video-store-tape-headz-1c

Now you see it, now you don’t… a phrase that applies equally to video rental stores AND the movie cassettes they rented. Take Tape Headz Video in Washington D.C., which appeared to be a thriving concern when Flickr user jm3 snapped its brightly-lit overhead outdoor sign in May of 2005. Fast-forward to July of 2006 and, courtesy of Flickr user Daniel Lobo (Daquella manera), we note that Tape Headz Video has joined countless other video rental stores in retail limbo. Hope you returned that tape… well, never mind.

25th Hour

video-store-24-hours-2a

video-store-24-hours-2b

Looks like time finally ran out for 24 Hrs Video, a picturesque yellow-painted video cassette sales & rental store in beautiful Brooklyn, NYC. Flickr user TIA (This is Awkward) snapped the sad but somehow soothing scene on September 2nd, 2013, a short time after the official notice of lease termination was taped (ironic, that) to the store’s front door.

Video Empty

video-store-MD-14

Video MD in Passaic, NJ appears to have died of natural causes: Netflix and Redbox, to be exact. Talk about yer Prognosis Negative. Flickr user Jeffs4653 snapped the storefront (complete with abandoned shopping cart and overflowing trash bin – stay classy, New Jersey) on August 6th, 2010. Still no cure for Snookie.

Desire To Expire

video-store-named-desire-4a

video-store-named-desire-4b

The delightfully-named “A Video Store Named Desire” made quite an impression on tape-renting Angelenos, though whether said impression was positive or negative depended much upon one’s dealings with Mike, the Santa Monica Blvd store’s oft-crusty owner. The vast majority of Yelp reviews bemoan the store’s closing in the summer of 2015, however, and note the loss of a beloved local film-culture icon.

Pat’s Passed

video-store-pats-video-5

We’re not sure how long Pat’s Video in Carrollton, Kentucky was in business but that sign wouldn’t be out of place a century ago… except for the “video” part, of course. Flickr user Joey Harrison captured the lonely state of this abandoned video store in November of 2011.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Taped Shut 15 More Closed Abandoned Video Stores

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Taped Shut: 15 More Closed & Abandoned Video Stores

Posted in Creativity

 

Pizza Hurt: 12 Stale & Crusty Abandoned Pizza Hut Stores

12 Oct

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1a
Pizza Hut has over 11,000 restaurants worldwide but it once had even more… until these dirty dozen outlets were abandoned like a leftover stuffed crust slice.

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1b

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1d

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1e

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 but it took a while for the chain to morph into the familiar red-roofed, trapezoid-windowed icon of fast food pop culture. Thousands of the Richard D. Burke-designed “red roofs” remain though the chain continues to move away from the old dine-in formula in favor of home delivery.

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1c

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1f

abandoned-pizza-hut-Beverly-Hills-1g

According to Michael Wayne of Past/Lives, the “sad, wide, expressive eyes” of this drearily over-painted and graffiti-tagged former Pizza Hut restaurant in suburban Sydney, Australia “stare out at the busy King Georges Road rushing by, just like they have every day for the last 40 years.” That was in July of 2012… by early 2013 when Wayne returned, the store had vanished lock, stock and birch beer barrel. “Why couldn’t it have happened to Dominos instead?,” mourned Wayne. S’truth, mates.

“Gimme a C! Gimme an L!”

abandoned-pizza-hut-Rocky-Ford-3a

abandoned-pizza-hut-Rocky-Ford-3b

Today on Wheel Of Misfortune… an abandoned Pizza Hut restaurant just off U.S. Highway 50 in Rocky Ford, Colorado, “where a cantaloupe-borne listeria outbreak which killed 33 people is said to have originated in 2011,” according to Tessa Cheek of The Dry Sea. That’s not going to be good for business… that’s not going to be good for anybody.

Brownout

abandoned-pizza-hut-Williamsburg-2b

Some say that when a red-roofed Pizza Hut closes, a special corporate team rushes to the location and paints the roof brown as part of the “de-identifying” process. Sorta like airlines painting over their logo when one of their jets crashes. The more you know!

abandoned-pizza-hut-Williamsburg-2a

abandoned-pizza-hut-Williamsburg-2c

Flickr user Ryan (RetailByRyan95) snapped this recently browned-over Pizza Hot restaurant in Williamsburg, VA on December 27th of 2008 and then again on June 30th of 2009. Wow, you’d never know the place used to be a Pizza Hut.

Spotless

abandoned-pizza-hut-Spotsylvania-1a

Whoops, looks like the Browning Brigade didn’t get the memo on an abandoned Spotsylvania County, VA Pizza Hut captured by Panoramio user Dan R. Mills in October of 2014. The entire sad scene screams of neglect from the building’s faded red roof to vegetated pavement cracks competing with ghostly yellow parking lines. One can only imagine what the food was like.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Pizza Hurt 12 Stale Crusty Abandoned Pizza Hut Stores

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Pizza Hurt: 12 Stale & Crusty Abandoned Pizza Hut Stores

Posted in Creativity

 

Facade Lift: Abandoned Commercial Building Reborn as Mixed-Use

10 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

before and after

Finding new life as a combination of retail and housing space, this stunning structure’s new look works with the existing building envelope and floor plates while breaking down visible divisions between stories.

new building facade

before after side view

Located in Bangkok, Thailand, the refab is now home to four siblings above and their family-run jewelry store on the first floor.

converted store design ground

converted multistory mixed use

Idin Architects (photos by Spaceshift) kept the framework, difficult to remove as it touches adjacent structures, but renovated the interior and added an entirely new facade that seems to defy floors as it wraps up the front.

new facade

converted living room area

Each family occupies two stories of the 7-floor building, with elevators connecting all of the different units in the back and an enclosed rooftop patio above.

converted light well space

converted growing tree

A central lightwell (occupied in part by a slow-growing tree) and other internal features reconnect the different are as well while maintaining separation and privacy for each family unit.

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Facade Lift: Abandoned Commercial Building Reborn as Mixed-Use

Posted in Creativity

 

RV There Yet? Abandoned Trailers Of The Salton Sea Shore

05 Oct

[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

salton-sea-trailer-pink-6
California’s Salton Sea was once a sparkling desert oasis, attracting vacationers in mobile homes and RVs. The people have gone but their trailers remain.

salton-sea-trailer-pink-2

salton-sea-trailer-pink-0

Located in Southern California’s Colorado Desert, the Salton Sea was created inadvertently in 1905 when a “perfect storm” of heavy rains and ill-advised construction of irrigation canals allowed the mighty Colorado River to divert into the bone-dry Salton Sink. Though saltier than the Pacific Ocean, the resulting below-sea-level lake sparked a development boom that included resorts, marinas and trailer parks.

salton-sea-trailer-pink-5

salton-sea-trailer-pink-4

By the late 1950s, however, increasing pollution and a series of massive (and massively smelly) fish die-offs took the bloom off the rose – the number of visitors and residents dropped while many of those who left the area left their unwieldy trailers behind. Some of these long-abandoned trailers have achieved an unlikely sort of fame as photographic subjects – as symbols of post-apocalyptic failed consumerism, they can’t be beat! One of the most well-known abandoned Salton Sea motor homes is the very pink (even the kitchen sink is pink!) trailer photo-documented above by Flickr users nate2b and jawbox57.

Gone, Fishin’

salton-sea-trailer-tilapia-1

salton-sea-trailer-tilapia-2

There are dozens – possibly several hundred – abandoned trailers scattered around the receding shores of the Salton Sea though very few are as artistically decorated as the rather “fishy” example above. Flickr users Jamie Valenta (Jamie V Photography) snapped the Tilapia Trailer in February of 2011 while Erin Yamagata captured one of many possible inspirations on a salt-encrusted beach in January of 2010.

Skinned Game

salton-sea-trailer-skinned-1

salton-sea-trailer-skinned-2

salton-sea-trailer-skinned-3

You won’t see much graffiti of any type on these abandoned Salton sea trailers but that’s not to say they’ve never been tagged. In recent times, metal scavengers and scrappers have been busily stripping away the siding from countless old trailers including the once-impressive RV above. Meth: it’s a hell of a drug. Kudos to Flickr users Hans Proppe (shadowplay), Brent (brentus69), and Patrick Maloney (analog_chainsaw) for stopping to snap instead of strip.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Rv There Yet Abandoned Trailers Of The Salton Sea Shore

Share on Facebook





[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on RV There Yet? Abandoned Trailers Of The Salton Sea Shore

Posted in Creativity

 

Abandoned Ship: Artist Paints Figure Onto Floating Ruins

22 Sep

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

ship graffiti 2

Hawaiian artist HULA paints the head and arm of a floating woman onto the rusted steel surface of an abandoned ship, all while balancing on a surfboard. The woman’s face appears and disappears with the tides, the rising water sometimes only revealing her hand. This large-scale guerrilla mural is the latest waterside work to be completed by HULA, who’s known for his unusual balancing act technique.

ship graffiti 3

Otherwise known as Sean Yoro, the Oahu-born, NYC-based artist gained attention this summer for translating his oil paintings on canvas to urban surfaces located along canals or other bodies of water. HULA’s favorite subjects are bathing women, painted with photorealistic detail onto crumbling concrete.

ship graffiti 1

The artist was inspired to create ‘Ho’i Mai’ (which translates to ‘Come Back’) on the stern of a half-sunken ship off the Hawaiian coast after watching the water rise and fall as the tides change throughout the day.  Floating out to work alongside the ship on his paddle board, HULA hand-painted the image without the apparent use of a projector or, in fact, anything other than a few cans of paint and some brushes.

ship graffiti 4

Yoro hopes to turn the ship into a public work of art rather than just a forgotten vessel left to slowly sink into the water over the decades. The painting won’t last forever, though, as the artist uses traditional oil paints knowing they won’t stand up to the elements for long.

ship graffiti 5

“I use it in a traditional old masters’ technique, mixing both loose brushwork with very tight strokes of sharp lines,” he told CNN. “I’m always trying to make the paint have a juicier texture to really help the portrait come alive. Oil paint outdoors definitely isn’t the best and it doesn’t last nearly as long as acrylics, but I kinda like that my figures have their own lifespan.”

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Abandoned Ship: Artist Paints Figure Onto Floating Ruins

Posted in Creativity